TIBET, 15TH CENTURY

Details

A Bronze Figure of Virupa
Tibet, 15th Century
Well cast seated on an antelope skin atop a double lotus base with his angled left leg supported by a yogic band, his left hand raised pointing upward, wearing a short dhoti with a pattern of inlaid silver squares, and a floral garland, his face expressively modeled with silver inlaid eyes and remains of cold gold, the details elegantly worked and finely incised
7 1/8 in. (18 cm.) high

Lot Essay

Virupa is often depicted with his right hand raised in a characteristic gesture of stopping the sun in its tracks. The less common depiction with his left arm raised actually relates to another scene in his life, when he parted the waters of the Ganges after a ferryman refused him passage due to his wild appearance.

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